How Trump-backed World Liberty Financial just joined crypto’s ‘regulated rails land-grab’

The Trump family’s World Liberty Financial is strong-arming its way into the traditional financial system after it became the latest crypto firm to apply for a banking licence this week.

By doing so, the Trump organisation is positioning itself against traditional lenders who warn that these applications raise “significant policy and legal questions.”

“What we’re seeing is a ‘regulated rails’ land-grab,” Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO of stablecoin payments network Borderless.xyz, said of the application.

He added that, with the pro-crypto Trump Administration in charge, crypto companies are rushing to get the licence in order to get the same access to payments systems as banks before a new administration — perhaps one hostile towards crypto — takes charge.

The rush for a charter

Top crypto firms like Coinbase, Circle, Ripple, BitGo, and Paxos Trust Company have already received conditional approval from the OCC to obtain national trust bank charters. The charters allow the companies to operate like banks by overseeing their own reserves and taking custody of assets for institutions.

Now, World Liberty Financial wants in too, with the hope that institutions will choose its stablecoin over others and eventually that USD1 will be used for everyday transactions.

“We believe the best path to broader adoption, including everyday transactions, is to establish USD1 as the preferred stablecoin for major institutions, enterprises, and consumers, too,” Zak Folkman, co-founder and COO at World Liberty Financial, told DL News.

“The proposed World Liberty Trust Company would be fully regulated and allow us to further demonstrate that USD1 is the stablecoin everyone can trust — and use.”

Everyone wants a stablecoin

World Liberty Financial is a crypto project co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his sons.

Though President Trump is no longer involved in World Liberty Financial, his sons are.

Stablecoins became a hot topic last year. Banks and other traditional financial firms began to explore stablecoins like never before in 2025, buoyed by the Trump administration’s backing of the industry, lighter regulations and the signing of the Genius Act into law.

Why banks aren’t happy

Traditional lenders have expressed concern over crypto companies getting the same rights as banks.

Last year, the Bank Policy Institute and Independent Community Bankers of America wrote a letter urging the OCC to deny Coinbase Global Inc.’s application for a charter.

Nicolle Lafosse, counsel at the international law firm Diaz Reus, told DL News that banks are not merely concerned about competition but also risks to deposit safety, community obligations and overall financial stability.

“Clear regulatory boundaries and balanced oversight will be critical to ensuring crypto-linked banks can coexist sustainably with traditional financial institutions,” she added.

A war against TradFi?

President Trump has in the past bemoaned being denied services from traditional financial firms — including JP Morgan.

His sons have gone even further. Donald Trump Jr. has said his family had no choice but to get into crypto after banks refused to give them services following the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

Eric Trump, meanwhile, last year accused Capital One bank of being “woke” and said after the Trump Organization sued the bank for allegedly “de-banking” President Trump that he would not stand by while “big banks misuse their power to stifle businesses and harm innocent Americans.”

The pro-crypto Trump family has repeatedly said that digital assets — including its World Liberty Financial project — would help ordinary people get access to top financial services.

“Our mission is to unlock financial access for all by replacing the limits of traditional banking with open, onchain infrastructure, and by creating a fairer system where opportunity isn’t defined by location, status, or permission,” the DeFi project said on its website.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at mdisalvo@dlnews.com.